The CharacterStrong Podcast

We're counting down the top 6 podcasts of 2023! Today our guest is Ryan Marshall, School Counselor at South Salem High School and the 2023 Oregon School Counselor of the Year. We talk to Ryan about student driven suicide prevention and how they have worked to add student input and voice in supporting student mental health. He shares how this work started with one student, and how as they gathered information across the district they heard from students that they wanted to help. Ryan discusses how students have played a vital role in creating tools like a needs assessment, how their contributions have helped support students in crisis district-wide, and how this student involvement has helped save the lives of other students. Learn More: Visit the CharacterStrong Website

We're counting down the top 6 podcasts of 2023! Today our guest is Dr. Alvia Baldwin the Director of Guidance and Counseling in Alief ISD in Texas. We talk to Dr. Baldwin about how to increase staff and Admin buy-in in our schools and districts. She talks about the different ways that they have put a focus on character education across the district at Alief, not just with the students but also with the staff. Dr. Baldwin shares how having fun has be an important piece of creating a culture of character, and how they have connected this with what was already happening in schools. She also talks about the ways they have implemented character education with pilot schools and how this has helped schools creatively support this work all across the district. Learn More: Visit the CharacterStrong Website

We're counting down the top 6 podcasts of 2023! Today, our guest is Dr. Clay Cook, the Chief Development Officer at CharacterStrong. We speak with Clay about why Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports should run concurrently instead of waiting for Tier 1 to be fully in place before starting Tier 2. He identifies some of the necessary components for this approach and discusses the differences between Tier 1 and Tier 2. Clay also emphasizes the time required to support students with Tier 2 needs, and he talks about the impact that it can have when Tier 1 and Tier 2 are efficiently implemented together. Learn More: Visit the CharacterStrong Website

This week CharacterStrong Co-Founder John Norlin overviews a weekly meeting process that has been a part of CharacterStrong from the beginning. He shares about the EOS process and talks about about the regular weekly meeting principles that anyone can use to help bring high accountability and high supports for us and our teams. Learn More: Send us your thoughts/questions at info@characterstrong.com Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guest is John Morrison an Educational Leadership Consultant, and named One of Canada's Outstanding Principals by the Learning Partnership. We talk with John about how we can better connect students to school in a meaningful way and how this directly connects with attendance. He also shares about the research that they did which shows the impact of students missing classes and the 4 things that they started to do in response to begin to decrease the number of students that were absent. John also talks about the importance of finding ways to engage students and gives some practical ways that we can listen to students and help show them that they matter. Learn More: Free Download: The Problem-Solving Blueprint for Chronic Absenteeism Visit the CharacterStrong Website John Morrison has been recognized as One of Canada's Outstanding Principals by the Learning Partnership, is the recipient of the Leader in Education award from the national Harmony Movement, and the Peace Medallion from the Y.M.C.A. He was a school leader at the secondary school level for 12 years, with the final 6 years as the principal of Anderson Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Whitby, Ontario. John then moved on to the role of Coordinator of Leadership Programs at the Faculty of Education at York University, Toronto. He initially taught the Principals Qualifications Program (PQP) while still a principal, then moved into the role of coordinating all the PQP and other leadership programs, conferences, and events for the Faculty of Education for a period of 5 years. John rewrote the PQP on two occasions for reaccreditation through the Ontario College of Teachers, making significant revisions to reflect a greater focus on innovative thought and leadership. He codeveloped and wrote the two-part Private Schools Principals Program for the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools and after three years of successful offerings, revised and updated the PSP to meet the standards of the Ontario College of Teachers. It then became the Principals Qualifications Program – Private School Focus. John was contracted by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Education in Prince Edward Island to coordinate the design and development of the two-part Administrator's Leadership Program. He worked with a team of school leaders from PEI to identify the key components required for this program and with a broader team to determine the most applicable resources. This program is now in its seventh year of successful operation. John also worked with the Schulich School of Business at York University in the development of an Executive Leadership Program for school leaders in Ontario and was an advisor to the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Executive Leadership Program for Canada's Outstanding Principals. Currently he is consulting and advising the British Columbia Principals/Vice Principals Association as they develop a leadership program for the Ministry of Education in British Columbia. He has spoken at local, regional, and national events, including keynoting at the 2023 Canadian Association of Principals National Conference. The most common adjectives used to describe his workshops/presentations/keynotes are "inspiring" and "thought provoking". John is also the author of The IT Factor: Discover and Unleash Your Own Unique Leadership Potential, a Bestseller on Amazon.

Today our guest is Cory Notestine the Executive Director of People at CharacterStrong. We talk with Cory about how implementing MTSS can often feel like the wild west as schools within districts each do their own things, making it difficult to track and support MTSS implementation. He shares how some of the pain points in implementation come from us not truly understanding the systems that we work in, how they operate, and who the decision makers are. Cory talks about how districts are often overflowing with implementation efforts, and when we start to zero in on just few of them with support, educators are more able to start implementing them well. Learn More: Register for our FREE MTSS Summit Join us at our next MTSS Certification Training Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guest is CharacterStong co-founder Houston Kraft! We talk with Houston about gratitude and how gratitude is one of the most low burden, hi impact things that we can do for our mental well being. He shares that we can start to practice gratitude by acknowledging and being aware of the good things in our lives, figuring out where they have come from, and then having this lead us to appreciation. Houston also unpacks the idea of beginning to train ourselves to look for the good things that are around us each and every day. Learn More: Download FREE Gratitude Resources for Students Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guest is Dr. Clay Cook the Chief Development Officer at CharacterStrong We talk to Clay about The importance of having Shared Clarity and Commitment when it comes to implementing MTSS. He breaks down the connection between clarity and adult readiness, highlighting their pivotal roles as prerequisites for successful MTSS implementation Clay also reminds us that clarity proceeds commitment, and shares that 80% of implementation efforts fall because we don't have adult readiness. Learn More: Check out our upcoming MTSS Certification Training Sign up for the FREE 2024 Not your Typical MTSS Summit Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guest is Dr. Beth Ruff, School Counselor at Powder Springs Elementary School We talk to Dr. Ruff about Arts Integration in school counseling and how at Powder Springs they integrate art into all of the elementary classes. She shares how art integrates so well with the school counseling standards and framework, and gives examples of how they have used art to help students talk about topics such as grief and loss. Additionally, Dr. Ruff highlights the proactive use of art and music to address mental health issues and how this approach has effectively engaged students in a meaningful way. Learn More: Visit the CharacterStrong Website

Today our guest is Dr. Alisha Hill the Director of School Support at CharacterStrong We talk with Dr. Hill about strategies to establish readiness for initial implementation across districts. She discusses how in her district they focused on building readiness in three key areas: motivation, capacity, and support structures. Dr. Hill emphasizes the significance of having a district-level team, ensuring support for adults involved in the process, and fostering a shared vision throughout the district. She also highlights the importance of aligning with other initiatives and utilizing low-burden, high-impact resources and tools for professional learning, and the positive impact this can have. Learn More: Visit the CharacterStrong Website